Winnsboro, Texas — Winnsboro Center for the Arts presents two music and poetry concerts at the 2023 Winnsboro Cowboy Music and Poetry Gathering on the Bowery in downtown Winnsboro on September 30. The shows are reminiscent of old cowboy storytelling that used to take place around a campfire during cattle drives. The performers tell stories, recite poetry, sing, and play instruments.

A 4:00 p.m. concert features Kristyn Harris, Teresa Burleson and Jay Snider.

Harris is a five-time and currently reigning International Western Music Association Entertainer of the Year and a six-time and currently reigning International Western Music Association Female Performer of the Year.

Burleson is the International Western Music Association 2019 and 2017 Female Poet of the Year and her CD, The Calf Book, was named 2017 Poetry CD of the Year. She has been in the Top Five Nominees for Female Poet of the Year with the International Western Music Association missing just one year from 2013 to 2022.  In 2010 she was awarded the Cowgirl Poet of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists.

Snider is the current poet laureate of Oklahoma serving from 2023 to 2024. He was previously named Lariat Laureate by CowboyPoetry.com in 2001 and Cowboy Poet of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists in 2008. He resides and works as a rancher.

At 7:00 p.m. ticket holders see Dom Flemons, Andy Hedges, and Pipp Gillette in concert.

Hedges is a songster, reciter, storyteller, guitarist, and collector of cowboy songs and poems. He is the next generation of the genre and he takes it seriously, working with the legends. Waddie Mitchell – the man who brought cowboy poetry to our generation says, “He embodies the future of the tradition.”

Dom “The American Songster” Flemons is a Grammy Award Winner, two time EMMY Nominee, 2020 U.S. Artists Fellow. He's an expert player on the banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife, and rhythm bones.

Gilllette is from Crockett, Texas. He was the winner of the 2016 Western Heritage Award for “Traditional Western Album” from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

Time is allowed in between concerts for guests to get dinner, browse shops, and enjoy a Western-themed art exhibition, "Cowboy Tales." Other cowboy-themed activities take place throughout the day.

Winnsboro Cowboy Music and Poetry Gathering precedes the town's Autumn Trails Festival which features rodeos, parades, trail rides, trade days, swap meets, car shows, baking contests, beard and mustache contest, and more throughout the month of October.

Concessions are available for purchase during the concerts. Wine and beer may be brought into the concert and donations are encouraged for the use of house glasses and corking services.

Tickets are $30 and $50 and are good for admission to both shows. Visit www.WinnsboroCenterForTheArts.com to learn more and purchase tickets.